God didn't make these little green apples

APPLE trees with a few extra genes are ready for planting out in a Derbyshire orchard. David James and his colleagues at Horticulture Research International's research station in East Malling, Kent, have equipped these apples with extra genes designed to fend off fungi and moth larvae.

One of the genes makes a protein from cowpeas that is toxic to larvae of the codling moth. The other is meant to combat apple scab, the most damaging fungal disease of apples. The main aim of the two-year experiment, however, is to see whether the added genes function as well outdoors as they have in glasshouses. "We want to make sure the genes are still switched on in the cold," says Jill Chartier-Hollis of the University of Derby, who is handling the trial with her colleague, Paul Lynch.

Lynch and Chartier-Hollis hope that the Department of the Environment will allow them to plant ...

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